Downloading over the Internet and Filesharing

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Hey,

Just wondering if you could give me some advice.

I have just read the filesharing threads with much guilt

I have over certain periods recently downloaded live recordings of a band which have never been released and therefore which are not available in the shops. I think this might be justified, but on Friday, I deleted all these recordings.

But on a more serious note, I have also downloaded a number of the band’s recordings - ie. songs which are available in the shops. I’m not sure how many maybe, 70-80. I have been convicted of the immorality of this and deleted all these files on Friday.

I know that this is the correct thing to do and I now have a clear conscience before God with this matter.
I have asked Him to forgive me for the downloads and firmly resolve never to do it again.

However, I am ashamed that I downloaded these songs in the first place rather than buying them. Music is one of my main passions in life and I buy many albums each year, almost exclusively Christian albums ! Yet on this matter, I failed by downloading some songs I should not have.

I suppose I am just wanting some advice on how people felt after they had deleted their MP3s :

Did you feel shame?
Did you feel sadness?
Did you feel relief?

I do feel relief that I can truly say I have no illegal music on my computer, only that which I have paid for, but I am also really really terrified that some Music People will track me down over this matter, although I think that is unlikely as they seem to target massive uploaders. Also, I live in Europe and the RIAA don’t reach there yet.

I wish I had never gotten into this and it haunts me at the moment.
I feel despair over this issue. Please help. It’s scary how easily accessible such music is via the Internet.
 
You bring up valid points. It has me wondering about files I have so thanks for sharing.

If you don’t mind me asking, have you taken the matter into confession? Guilt is alleviated by confession. Once confessed, don’t dwell on it, other than to learn from it and share as you have.
 
Downloading and Filesharing over the internet is one of the many signs of Moral Relativism that permeates society today. Found this article while viewing the various news wires today:
**Students: Downloading not unethical:- **
WASHINGTON | July 04, 2005 2:11:26 AM IST

Two-thirds of U.S. college students see nothing unethical about downloading digital copyrighted files without paying, a survey found.

Full Story
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PF
 
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WanderAimlessly:
Downloading and Filesharing over the internet is one of the many signs of Moral Relativism that permeates society today. PF
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Moral relativism permeated society long before the internet. The internet just provides continuous opportunity because it largely cannot be controlled.

My father told me a story from the 1930s when farmers would trade time to help each other with large chores. My grandfather owed a neighboring farmer several days worth of labor and sent my father to work off part of it. My dad was horrified that whenever the host farmer would go to the house to do something or get something (such a their meals), as soon as he was out of sight, all the other men would stop working and just lay around. My father would then have to stop too, but felt guilty about it. When they spotted the host farmer coming back, these men (who either owed him time or were loaning him time) would all jump back to work. My dad took the unscheduled breaks with the other men, but came back that evening and worked three hours by himself to insure he had paid back a full day’s work.

Back in the early sixties I remember watching in horror as a pop machine where I worked was emptied (of soda and money) as soon as the word got around you could trick it into paying you for taking the soda. Even my boss joined in. I have to admit I was tempted because I got very thirsty just watching them and never could afford to buy pop out of a machine, but I held out. I remember feeling guilty and stupid for not joining in. I wonder if I would have held out very long if the machine continued to be vulnerable every day, seemingly without end (like the internet is).

A few years ago I talked with a college student who, after much soul searching, downloaded an illegal copy of a software product related to his planned future career. He said that he had to have a copy or he would be left behind by other students who did have it, but he couldn’t afford the price tag (something over $2000, I don’t remember the amount). I could tell his decision really bothered him. A year later, the university provided him with a better legal copy as part of a course he was taking. He said having the illegal copy really helped him prepare for the course and he would do it again. I didn’t have a good answer for him. Today’s students in technology fields are in a race, not only with each other, but with the fast pace of technology itself, and cutting edge software is very expensive.

The pressure to give in to moral relativism today sure is much greater than when I was a kid. I only had to worry about whether or not to plagiarize on an essay, cheat on a test or raid a pop machine and my opportunities were much more limited.
 
I recall in the 80’s that the movie industry felt threatened by VHS and BETA VCR’s (a “new” technology at the time). After numerious lawsuits the determination was that folks could make copies for home/personal use. Not for profit, not for resale or piracy, but for home/personal use.

My question: How is downloading music for personal use any different than taping movies and music from television and sharing with family/friends?

The movie industry seems to have survied and prospered even in the digital age. I think the music industry will too.
 
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LawStudent:
I have just read the filesharing threads with much guilt

I have over certain periods recently downloaded live recordings of a band which have never been released and therefore which are not available in the shops.
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In my opinion I do not believe this is a sin. Our self-serving greedy society might considered it a crime only because they want as much blood as they can squeeze from us turnips.

My reasoning is because it is called file sharing. Someone is sharing something with you. You did not steal it, unless you hacked into someones computer without their permission and took the file without them knowing. They purchased it and are letting you enjoy it also. There are many things in our lives that we share with people. I don’t think we would consider sharing a cup of sugar with a neighbor stealing, but if you use the same logic then you are taking money away from the sugar manufacturer because your neighbor did not have to go out and buy their own box.
I think as long as we are not profiting by our sharing of files then I don’t feel it is a sin (or wrong, but a court wouldn’t agree with me on that one) 😃
 
I don’t know.
My neighbor set up my computer and installed a program worth about $200. My daughter deleted it accidently. At the time I didn’t realize what it was worth or that it was illegal.

Then later he handed me the disc and told me how to reinstall it. After wrestling with my conscience for several days, I took it back to him and said I couldn’t because I hadn’t paid for it. I took him a loaf of banana bread so it wouldn’t hurt his feelings.
I felt really stupid for doing this, and now I wonder why. We shouldn’t be ashamed of being honest.

Probably in future such sharing will become legal, as recent posters say, but since it’s not right now I’d rather avoid the bad example to my kids and my conscience.
 
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Wildgraywolf:
I recall in the 80’s that the movie industry felt threatened by VHS and BETA VCR’s (a “new” technology at the time). After numerious lawsuits the determination was that folks could make copies for home/personal use. Not for profit, not for resale or piracy, but for home/personal use.

My question: How is downloading music for personal use any different than taping movies and music from television and sharing with family/friends?

The movie industry seems to have survied and prospered even in the digital age. I think the music industry will too.
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Well said.
 
The music industry has done a poor job of getting with technology, preferring legal battles instead of innovative business practices. They can blame their customer base if they want for misbehaving, but the customers are just behaving in a selfish way – which is what any good economists expect.

I don’t feel sorry for them. I don’t justify downloading, but I’ve done it. I don’t regret it, nor do I feel guilty about it. If anything I’ve spent more money purchasing copyrighted books and videos as a result. I’ve not damaged anyone, or taken the food off the table of any child.

I’ve learned wonderful things from lectures I didn’t know about, and then went to buy legitimate materials such as videotapes and DVDs from authors I’d never heard of before. Also I’ve given a few gift CDs for people which I sampled by downloads – like a ten second sample from there web site is going to tell me anything.

I’ve always been pretty careful about copyrights, for example I do not own any pirated software. I am a musician and I buy the music rather than copy it whenever possible. What really told me the music industry was hostile toward me is about 20 years ago when they wanted to impose a tax on blank recording tapes supposedly to compensate starving artists. Yeah, right; that money would go to the richest and to the lawyers, but that’s another issue. Anyway I used cassette tapes for my piano lessons and recorded music. I wrote letters to whomever the powers were, telling them I didn’t appreciate having to subsidize Boy George’s music just so I can record some mozart.

Also I suggested we apply a tax on blank copier paper since it could be used to make illegal copyrights.

These people are hostile toward their customers. Stealing their stuff is illegal, but it is perfectly understandable that it’s done. As far as I’m concerned, though, a company should be ashamed of itself to start a reverse-class action suit against its customers. That’s so lame, and as a business model they cannot use laws to protect them against tecnology and stay in business.

Purist musicians would want more that their art be appreciated than that all the accounting goes right. I think those who maintain that attitude will receive their rewards. Of course look who’s talking. To me a Catholic funeral is an hour of work and $75 income.

Alan
 
Sounds like it’s a problem with its own inherent solution. In theory only one person need actually buy a copy of song. That one person could then fileshare it with everyone else who wants it via the internet. But if that occurs on a large scale, musicians and producers would simply quit making recordings as there would be no profit.
 
what i’d like to know is what to do in such obscure issues where Catholics are divided. who do you listen to? can you just pick a side and hope God will understand? cases where even educated Catholics might have different sides.
 
Box Car Racer:
what i’d like to know is what to do in such obscure issues where Catholics are divided. who do you listen to? can you just pick a side and hope God will understand? cases where even educated Catholics might have different sides.
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In cases like this, I take my best shot, and go on. I don’t worry about it.

I don’t mind not having full mental assent with other club members. If they all agreed to my way of thinking then life would be pretty boring.

Alan
 
yeah, I totally agree, but it’s not so much about what they think, really I want to know what God thinks.
 
I believe that file sharing in no different from recording radio on to a tape, dubbing that tape and sharing it with others. I do think, however, that if one can afford to purchase the song that they like they should do so, if they plan to purchase it (realistically) or if they have already purchased it or if they can’t afford to purchase it at the time I can’t see how it is wrong. Many times people buy a piece of software and if the disk becomes scratched and un-usable what do you do? In this case the owner of the scratched copy should also feel no guilt if they download a new copy. When you are at a friends house and you are listening to one of their music CD’s with them, did you pay a license to be in that room to witness the music also? How different is that from if your friend let you borrow the disk he bought, or if you download the music off the internet from someone else who bought the song? The best one to answer this question though is the Holy Ghost, pray for the Holy Ghost to answer the question 🙂
 
Didnt Saint Augustine say something about things that dont “diminish” when being shared, and how no one should pay for those things?
 
I have serious doubts about the immorality of downloading stuff from the Internet for personal use. For one thing, it appears to be “stealing” under US Copyright law, but in other countries, it’s legal. In France, for example, it’s permitted to copy things for personal use, even if the source itself is illegal (e.g. Internet, pirated CD’s) for as long as no money exchanges hands). Many theologians (including those on EWTN) don’t see much intrinsic immorality, and instead see a possible venial sin in disobeying a legitimate civil law, but not in the very act of copying.

However, if you sold the downloaded music, then there is a moral issue, because now you’re making money which rightfully belongs to the artists. But for private use, then it’s the record companies’ problem, and it’s their responsibility to bring down peer-to-peer if they can. We’re just the consumers. France sure won’t care.

I myself prefer to pay for as much as possible, but there is just some stuff that can be found online only, especially in a country with limited supplies of old music and relaxed copyright enforcement.
 
My phiolosophy is the music I used to download was stuff I never would have bought-it was the random song from the random artist thats not worth the price of the whole CD-and since I wasn’t gonna’ by it anyway, its not doing any harm to enjoy it. I wasn’t gonna buy it, so no one gets hurt.
 
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JimG:
Sounds like it’s a problem with its own inherent solution. In theory only one person need actually buy a copy of song. That one person could then fileshare it with everyone else who wants it via the internet. But if that occurs on a large scale, musicians and producers would simply quit making recordings as there would be no profit.
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Nothing is free. My son installed LimeWire and downloaded a bunch of stuff. After I deleted the files and un-installed LimeWire I found that not only had my Norton Anti-Virus somehow turned offf but my PC was infested with 1,777 viruses.
 
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